Adaptive divergence in experimental populations of Pseudomonas fluorescens. II. Role of the GGDEF regulator WspR in evolution and development of the wrinkly spreader phenotype.

Wrinkly spreader (WS) genotypes evolve repeatedly in model Pseudomonas populations undergoing adaptive radiation. Previous work identified genes contributing to the evolutionary success of WS. Here we scrutinize the GGDEF response regulator protein WspR and show that it is both necessary and sufficient for WS.

Demography of dietary restriction and death in Drosophila.

Dietary restriction (DR) increases life-span in organisms from yeast to mammals, presumably by slowing the accumulation of aging-related damage. Here we show that in Drosophila, DR extends life-span entirely by reducing the short-term risk of death. Two days after the application of DR at any age for the first time, previously fully fed flies are no more likely to die than flies of the same age that have been subjected to long-term DR.

Role of the GGDEF regulator PleD in polar development of Caulobacter crescentus.

Several members of the two-component signal transduction family have been implicated in the control of polar development in Caulobacter crescentus: PleC and DivJ, two polarly localized histidine sensor kinases; and the response regulators DivK and PleD. The PleD protein was shown previously to be required during the swarmer-to-stalked cell transition for flagellar ejection and efficient stalk biogenesis. Here, we present data indicating that PleD also controls the onset of motility and a cell density switch immediately preceding cell division.